Man with flower pot on head wields chainsaw during robbery

Andrew Korner
Journalist
Andrew was born and bred in Ipswich and has been at the QT since 2007. After starting out on the country rounds, he moved onto court reporting and then police and emergency services, which he has now been covering for the last three years. When he is not working on police rounds Andrew is busy sifting through the garbage of famous people, in search of ideas for his weekly column, the Naughty Korner. As there are very few famous people in Ipswich, Andrew is often forced to write his column about...

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A man wielding a chainsaw and wearing a flower pot on his head was arrested by Ipswich police after an alleged armed robbery at Flinders Views on Monday.Contributed

6AM, UPDATE: An Ipswich teenager is accused of going on a drunken late-night chainsaw rampage inside a petrol station while wearing a flower pot on his head.

Police rushed to the 7-Eleven service station on Ash St, Flinders View, following calls for help from two terrified shop attendants.

It will be alleged the man - who was wearing a flower pot over his head in an attempt to conceal his identity - entered the store about 4.30am on Monday, while two staff members were cleaning a coffee machine.

Wielding a chainsaw which was running at the time, the man lunged at the store attendants, who retreated into a back room.

Police allege the man then used the chainsaw to damage a window

and several display racks in the shop, before exposing his buttocks to the store attendants. He is accused of damaging a parked vehicle upon fleeing the scene.

It will be alleged the man made demands for money, but left the store only with a bottle of soft drink and the chainsaw.

A police officer en route to the service station noticed the suspect walking down Ash St shortly after the incident. He was placed under arrest.

Members of the dog squad then followed a trail back to the service station and located the allegedly stolen chainsaw in bush not far from the scene.

Leichhardt teenager Steven Frank Steele was later charged with one count of armed robbery, two counts of wilful damage, one count of going armed to cause fear, one count of public nuisance and one count of possessing suspected stolen property.

A lawyer appeared on his behalf when the case was heard before Ipswich Magistrates Court yesterday.

No application was made for bail, and Steele will remain in custody until the case is heard again on March 3.

8AM, MONDAY: Police have charged a 19-year-old man following an armed robbery at a Flinders View service station earlier this morning.

It will be alleged that around 4.30am a man entered a business on Ash Street armed with a running chainsaw and wearing a flower pot on his head. He then made demands for money from the male attendant.

When the attendant didn't comply, he left on-foot, allegedly causing damage to the store and a car parked in the carpark.

Police located him a short while later.

The 19-year-old Leichhardt man was charged with one count each of armed robbery, going armed so as to cause fear, public nuisance and unlawful possession of suspected stolen property. He was also charged with two counts of wilful damage.